


Down in the Park

by grotesk



Category: Nine Inch Nails (Band)
Genre: College, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Goth - Freeform, M/M, Multi, NIN, Nine Inch Nails, Oneshot, Other, Trent Reznor - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-18 22:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22233994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grotesk/pseuds/grotesk
Summary: When a longtime friend leaves and unexpectedly returns, what adventures will he take you on?Warning: All contents of this oneshot are fictional. Some ideas are inspired based off stories told by Trent's college girlfriend.
Relationships: Trent Reznor/Reader
Kudos: 11





	Down in the Park

It was a Saturday morning. I rolled out of bed and let out a sigh of relief, realizing I had nothing to do today. That was a very strange concept to a college student, but I was the one who had signed up for this thing in the first place. I could drop out whenever I had wanted, but I stayed for one reason, and that reason had left to pursue his dreams.

I rubbed my eyes as I got out of bed, all groggy but, for once, well rested. On days like this, I had wished that he hadn't left to do what he wanted to do.

I met Trent in an English class at this very same college. He was a brilliant young soul. He had plenty of ideas stirring in his mind. I could tell right off the bat that he was gifted. Every time Trent had an idea or an argument to pitch out, he was too shy to admit it, but if and when he did, it was always well-constructed, as if he had gone over it in his mind at least one hundred times and come up with ten different back-up plans if the idea was rejected. I guess that was what had led him to pursue music. I wasn't upset about it; I just missed him.

We had talked for quite a bit, but it was hard for me to talk about my feelings to him. He was an intelligent person with a lot of life experience. He acted older than he actually was. It was obvious that college wasn't for him. Besides, it was evident that he was different from everyone else: he dressed differently, had different political views than those around us, he listened to different music, and viewed the world in a darker, more cynical way than I could have imagined.

Although, I think that that was why I was most attracted to him: how different he was.

As I sighed and followed my daily routine, I kept thinking about Trent. Although he was a quiet individual, I knew his mind wasn't. He was with his band most of the time, but I knew him well enough to know that whatever those guys were doing wasn't what he liked to do. He was so gifted in electronics and engineering, and his understanding of music came so naturally to him.

I recalled a time that I'd caught him analyzing a song that he was singing along to and writing about in his journal that he never showed anyone. He looked embarrassed when I asked him what he was doing, but I encouraged him and left him alone. He was surprised by it, but I could tell he appreciated it. Ever since that day, I knew that I had fallen hard for this guy that probably had already forgotten about me.

As I ran my hands through my curly hair, I looked at myself in the mirror.

"You need a break," I told myself.

And with that, I impulsively decided that I had to go out for coffee and read a book in the park. It may have been the cheesiest and lamest thing I'd ever done, but I needed this time to myself.

I put on a little bit of makeup as I usually did to make myself feel nicer, threw on a random outfit, and headed out with nothing but my purse and my book. I had my cell phone in there and some money, but other than that, nothing much.

I headed out of my dorm and walked myself to the coffee shop. After ordering myself a small drink, I picked it up and walked to the park that was near my college. I was reading "Existentialism and Human Emotions." I was in a lost place in my life and wanted to see what a philosopher had to say about our need for someone to look up to and follow.

As I sat beneath a tree and opened my book to read it, I soon became engulfed in the words and what Sartre was trying to tell me through it.

I became so invested in the piece that I didn't realize someone had come and sit next to me and was watching over my shoulder, taking in the text at the same time. I only noticed when I felt his fuzzy hair brush against my cheek. I jumped up and dropped the book in my lap, turning around to see a smiling Trent.

"Oh my fucking god, you scared the shit out of me," I breathed, letting out a sigh of relief after my brain was able to register I wasn't being stalked by some crazy guy down in the park. Or well, was I at this point?

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. He was laughing and scooted away from me to give me space.

"I was actually gonna come down to give you a surprise visit. I wanted to see how you were doing."

I was taken aback by what he said, and he must have seen it in my face. He was smiling at it, and I could tell he was blushing a bit, too.

"I don't leave people I care about behind. It's not how I roll," he elaborated. He was being so stupidly cute. I could tell he didn't have many of the words to tell me his intentions. I didn't understand them fully myself, but I could tell there was something more.

"Oh, okay," I said with a smile, closing the book and putting it off to the side. "I'm just weirded out how you found me here. Stalking me?" I joked.

He chuckled then, obviously embarrassed. "No, no. Not at all. I was walking around here to see what I'd missed. Turns out, not much at all."

I nodded my head in understanding. He took this as a cue to continue. Trent was always quiet, but I knew that whenever he started, he couldn't stop. I also couldn't help but think of how weird it was to find him here after thinking about him. It must have been a coincidence. It had to be.

"I just dropped out because college wasn't for me, you know that already. I've been writing music lately and trying to record it by myself. I see something happening with it and I have plenty of ideas, but I'm not sure how it'll go. I have some stuff on tapes I brought for you, though," he told me, reaching into a small bag he had beside him, handing me the tapes. "I wanted you to tell me what you thought about it."

I looked down at his messy handwriting on the tapes. I smiled at it, recalling that familiar signature. "I'll give it a listen."

He nearly beamed then. "Great! What have you been up to? Still a writing major or whatever?" \

He was so cute.

"Yeah," I giggled. "Not sure where it'll take me. I'm not as deadset as you, but I guess it'll work itself out. It clearly has for you."

He chuckled again. "Eh. I guess you can put it that way."

There was a moment of silence between us. I sat there, fiddling with the grass beneath me.

"Do you wanna go for a ride?" he asked me, breaking the silence. "Let's do something. I miss it."

I was impressed at his confidence gain, but proud at the same time. It made my heart melt just a little bit. Or maybe, a lot.

"Sure."

And with that, he took me to his car.

I didn't expect the rest of the day to go this way, but I guess I had to step out of my comfort zone to find opportunities like this.

He drove me around town as we listened to our favorite songs. He showed me some of his new favorites, and as we listened to the mellow tunes he was into, he drove us down to a more forested area in the city. Trent was always one to hang around nature. Maybe it was the way he'd grown up or his Taurus nature, but he loved it.

After parking the car in a clearing, we got out of the car and sat in the grass next to it. We spent what felt like hours catching up on our lives and updating each other about family, friends, and our future careers. He was dead set on communicating his ideas to the world in the form of songs, and I was excited to follow his path. I could tell he was going to be very successful. He didn't think so, but I knew he was determined enough.

I was still into writing and wanted to write books, and maybe head into the storytelling business: journalism. It was becoming more appealing to me, and he made jokes about me being his daily reporter.

As the sun was high in the sky, we lay in the grass and watched the rays make its ways through the leaves high above us, Trent turned to me and smiled.

"I've missed you a lot. I regret a lot of things I didn't do when I was still around," he told me. I could sense a tingle of nervousness in his voice.

I turned my head around to face him. We were just inches apart.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I could feel my heart racing. This was straight out of a movie.

"This," he said.

And with that, he got up and made me sit up to kiss me. He leaned in and I could tell he was filled with anxiety, but longing overpowered.

Fireworks were going off inside my head, my stomach filled with butterflies. I kissed him back with equal passion, my hand on his cheek.

I didn't want him to pull away, but he did.

"I knew you liked me," he said, a cheesy grin spreading across his face.

I rolled my eyes. Way to ruin a moment. "Of course you did. You know everything," I laughed.

"Taurus things," he said.

Him and his stupid astrology.

"Yeah, yeah..." I mumbled, giggling. Why was he so stupid?

"I'm just teasing you," he laughed. "But seriously. I really really like you. We need to see each other more often."

Since when did he get more assertive and... dominant?

I wasn't complaining.

"I agree. But you don't even live here anymore."

He smiled. "I have a car."

I just laughed and nudged him. "Okay, you got me."

With that, we spent the rest of the day talking and the night time in each other's arms until he drove me back to my dorm.

This was going to be the start to an interesting journey.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! (-: I hope you enjoyed the story. I post my works both on here and on Wattpad. Hopefully I'll start regularly updating soon. This is the end of the story and it is completed, but I may start a full-length fanfiction soon. Thanks for reading!


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